challah!

I Love designing experiences. Throughout college, I curated blind feasts for friends, in which they wore blindfolds and marinated themselves in whatever bite they were eating right now. I once took my favorite storybook, split a group of friends into pairs, and had one partner illustrate the story on the body of the other, who was blindfolded, while I read it aloud. Instead of experiencing the story as illustrated by pictures, the blindfolded partner experienced it as illustrated by touch. (Friends have generally born the brunt of my so-called experience designing, which has generally involved blindfoldedness.) Last year on Valentine's Day, I choreographed a tele-dining experience for long-distance Lovers. There were tables for two: people sitting across from their laptops, sharing romantic desserts with their significant others, who were sitting elsewhere in the country, or elsewhere in the world. The event was small, but it ended up getting picked up by WIRED.

Still, it's always a mild struggle. Soliciting people to participate, securing any necessary funds, finding an appropriate venue... So you can see where this story is going: I was overjoyed to accept the position of Moishe House Providence hostess. Not only would I have a community, budget, and venue with which to design experiences, but I’d have a mandate. And after precisely 60 days at my post, I have to give a shout out (...ok, a "challah!") to the folks in our Providence community for being such willing co-conspirators. Dear Providence peeps, thank you for participating in our dichromatic shabbatlucks with such gusto, looking fabulous in your color of choice, and surprising our palates with the likes of bright green rice crispie treats and bright purple cabbage salad. Thank you for trusting Nathaniel and I to take care of you at our blind feast, while you cuddled, ate, and fed each other for over three hours while blindfolded. (Oh yea, and for being sports about staying blindfolded in the bathroom.) Thank you for giving me the courage to wanna try a tele-shabbat with a sister Moishe House (who's down – Hoboken? DC? Phillie?), and in general, to experiment with experience design.

Moishe House Providence is blessed to have such an engaged community to grow with.